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In July 1998, was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Trade and Industry with responsibility for Science and Innovation in the House of Lords.
He has a BA degree in History and Psychology from King's College, Cambridge and a MBA from Columbia University.

David John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville (born 24 October 1940) is a British Jewish businessman, politician and life peer for the Labour Party.

He was made a life peer in 1997, following Labour's election victory.

In July 2006 he was questioned by police as part of the Cash for peerages inquiry for a £2m loan to the Labour Party.

He is estimated to have a personal fortune of billions of pounds, due to his shareholding of his family's Sainsbury supermarket chain (estimated at 13%). He was Chairman of the group from 1992 to 1998 and was Finance Director for the 17 years before that.

He was a supporter of the Social Democratic Party, and bankrolled it, but moved to the Labour Party following the failure of the SDP to make much progress. He has donated millions of pounds to the Labour Party, and was associated with the Institute for Public Policy Research.

David Sainsbury is a noted philanthropist, donating at least £60m annually to good causes in the UK through his Gatsby Charitable Foundation.